“It’s f***ing insane,” says one Birmingham road safety campaigner. He’s talking about the recent media firestorm. On Saturday 22 August, Birmingham Live and the BBC released two similar articles which appeared to be based on the same Local Democracy Reporting Service reporting. In both pieces, the Birmingham Local Plan — a public document which has been published and available for scrutiny since the dog days of July — was given a meticulous going over. The pieces suggested that Birmingham would be the first city in England to have 20mph limits on all non-primary, local roads.
This story was picked up by the Telegraph on the following Tuesday, which kicked off an almighty ruckus (and subsequent coverage in The Times, the Guardian, ITV as well as many more) in the days that followed. Stories rallied objectors, led by city council Reform group leader Councillor Jex Parkin, attacking the move as a “disgraceful” imposition. Commentators laid into the Lib Dem-Green-Independent council administration for a ‘loony Left’ “war on drivers” that would be economically devastating.
But how fair is the reporting? And should those opposed to the measure be grabbing their pitchforks and taking to the streets in protest just yet?
Neither of the two initial pieces laid out their argument with the clarity the somewhat fiddly subject demands. The idea of Birmingham as the first in the country gives us a sense of us charging past the finish line. But it would be false to claim that Birmingham is ahead of the rest of the country in terms of their 20mph zones — at the moment, we’re some way behind.
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